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Bryan brothers survive again, move closer to Grand Slam - NBC Sports

Bryan brothers survive again, move closer to Grand Slam

APWF

Mike Bryan, right, and his twin brother Bob Bryan check their racquets during their match against Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray, both of Britain, during the men's quarterfinal round of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

September 3, 2013, 1:00 am

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Bob and Mike Bryan pulled off another escape in their quest for the calendar Grand Slam.

The identical twins saved two set points in the first set Monday night en route to a 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over the British pairing of Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray. The win moved the brothers two victories away from becoming the first team since 1951 to sweep all four Grand Slam tournaments in men's doubles in a single year.

The Bryans saved the first set point by pulling out a 21-shot rally to knot the first-set tiebreaker at 6, celebrating with one of their trademark chest bumps before switching ends to continue play. They saved the second set point when Marray missed a volley off Mike Bryan's return. Two points later, the Bryans wrapped it up.

"We play with a lot of energy and maybe if we lose the first set, the energy goes down a little bit," Mike Bryan said.

They returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium the day after winning a three-setter against Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil -- a victory they pulled out after making the rare decision to switch sides while returning serve after dropping the first set.

"I think that was a one-off," Bob Bryan said. "You probably won't see us do it the rest of the tournament."

Indeed, they played it straight against the No. 12 seeds in the quarterfinal, with Bob, the left-hander returning from the deuce side and Mike, the right-hander, from the ad side. After winning the tiebreaker, the Bryans picked up the match's only break of serve in the seventh game of the second set and served it out from there.

The Bryans already have won four straight Grand Slams, starting with last year's U.S. Open.

If they repeat, they'll join the Aussie team of Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman as the second men's team to win all four Slams in the same year.